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Cancer Prevention Coalition submits petition on imminent health hazard from hormonal meat

As reported in a March 18, New York Times editorial, "Honest Food Labels," FDA Commissioner, Margaret Hamburg, M.D., publicized letters to 17 food companies accusing them of -- "masking undesirable ingredients" -- in their products. She also emphasized the importance of "providing nutrition information that consumers can rely on."

3 Apr 2010

More corporations announce tax impact of health law

Verizon Communications, Inc. announced Thursday "it will record a related $970 million non-cash charge in the first quarter," The Associated Press reports. "So far at least 15 companies have disclosed about $2.8 billion in charges prompted by the health care overhaul. Verizon's charge is the second-largest after AT&T, which last week announced a $1 billion charge related to the tax bill. Verizon and other companies currently receive a government subsidy to keep prescription drug benefits for retirees.

3 Apr 2010

American Pain Society bestows "Clinical Center of Excellence" on Children's Hospital Boston's Pain Treatment Service

Children's Hospital Boston's Pain Treatment Service has been named a "Clinical Center of Excellence" by the American Pain Society, an honor that is bestowed upon five pain centers each year. This is the first year Children's has entered into the nomination process.

3 Apr 2010

"Check Yo Nutz" testicular cancer awareness campaign launched

Canisius College and Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) announce the launch of "Check Yo Nutz," the first comprehensive testicular cancer awareness campaign on a Western New York college campus. The campaign promotes testicular self-examination for men ages 15 - 40, through clear, informative, accurate, relatable and humorous messages.

3 Apr 2010

Obama promotes health bill, asks people to give it time to work

Los Angeles Times: Ihe president said "it would take four years for the overhaul to be fully implemented but that some provisions would kick in quickly. Those include ending insurance company practices of using preexisting conditions as an excuse to curb benefits and lifting annual caps on payments. ... The president also stressed the advantages for small-business owners.

3 Apr 2010

Tips to get optimum healthcare coverage during economic downturn

The economic downturn is impacting the health of many people – not only by exacerbating conditions like hypertension, stress and fatigue, but also by causing some people to put off getting the health care they need.

3 Apr 2010

Dems tout savings from Medicare fraud crackdown, swindlers exploit health bill confusion

The Hill: "Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee are trying to make the case that the healthcare bill will strengthen Medicare and Medicaid by finding major savings through a crack down on fraud, waste and abuse."

3 Apr 2010

Insurance protection for adult children won't come fast enough for some parents

Writing for Kaiser Health News, Michelle Andrews explores an important provision of the new health care law. "When Allison McMaster Young heard that the new health overhaul law would allow her and her husband to keep their 21-year-old son on their family health insurance policy until age 26, she breathed a sigh of relief.

3 Apr 2010

ApolloMed Hospitalists, Benchmark Hospitalists form strategic partnership

Apollo Medical Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of hospitalist services to the healthcare community, today announced that ApolloMed Hospitalists, one of its affiliated medical groups, has entered into a strategic partnership with Benchmark Hospitalists, a division of Emergent Medical Associates, to provide hospitalist services at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, a 434-bed acute care hospital.

3 Apr 2010

Health Overhaul Roundup: New law will cover young adults, but details are still vague

Kaiser Health News: A provision of the health law that would allow children up to 26 years old to remain on their parents' health plans will not become effective until Sept. 23, six months after enactment of the legislation. Because of the delay and other questions about details about implementation, the otherwise consumer-friendly provision is not "giving the new law a public relations boost." Instead, "it's creating consternation among some parents, who are sharing their concerns online about when the provision kicks in and whether their family will qualify."

3 Apr 2010

Mass. rejects insurers' rate hikes

Massachusetts regulators denied 235 of 274 requests by health insurance plans to raise premiums because officials view the hikes as excessive, The Boston Globe reports. "The rulings, following a review process set in motion by emergency regulations [Gov. Deval] Patrick filed in February, mark the first time the state has used its authority to turn down health premium increases."

3 Apr 2010

Endovascular aortic abdominal aneurysm repair utilization associated with disease prevalence

While health policy researchers commonly suggest that geographic variations in the amount of medical care provided can be attributed to hospital costs or physician practice patterns, a new study examining regional utilization of a specific surgical procedure - minimally invasive aneurysm repair - shows that is not the case.

3 Apr 2010

AAPC's membership continues to grow

The American Academy of Professional Coders announced today its membership reached a record high 90,000. Donna Peters, from Yorba Linda, CA was the 90,000th member and to reward her, the AAPC is giving her a CPC® certification exam free of charge.

3 Apr 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

"Achieving the [Millennium Development Goal] MDG 4 target of reducing newborn and child mortality will require concerted efforts to scale up evidence-based interventions, especially community-based preventive and therapeutic strategies in primary care," according to a Lancet comment that reflects on the challenges associated with developing "the appropriate mix of strategies" to improve maternal health.

3 Apr 2010

Debate and skepticism over the healthcare reforms

A few years back a law that was meant to cover millions of elderly extending their prescription drug coverage backfired with many who could not access their medicines or were charged more all because of computer generated errors. Administration, industry and consumer groups are gearing up to prevent the same thing from happening after the healthcare bill became law last week.

2 Apr 2010

Verizon charges $970 million due to the health care bill

The recent health care reform bill has shown its impact on corporate tax structure this Thursday when Verizon Communications Inc. a phone company announced it will record a related $970 million non-cash charge in the first quarter.

2 Apr 2010

EMA selected to staff RWJ Rahway's Emergency Department

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway (RWJ Rahway), a member of the Robert Wood Johnson Health System, has announced the selection of Emergency Medical Associates (EMA), one of the country's premier emergency physician groups, to staff its Emergency Department. EMA began staffing the Emergency Department on April 1, 2010.

2 Apr 2010

Utilizing "synthetic population" in simulating spread of infectious outbreaks

Did you know that filling out your census card will help computer scientists model how diseases spread in the United States?

2 Apr 2010

Controversial healthcare reform bill evaluated on 106.3FM

ABC7 and NBC5 cameras didn't miss a beat as fathers' rights attorney and guru Jeffery M. Leving and Congressman Danny K. Davis analyzed the historic healthcare bill on 106.3FM Sunday, March 28, 2010. Phones were ringing off the hook during Leving's Fathers' Rights Legal Show as the dynamic duo evaluated the controversial healthcare reform bill answering burning questions on every American's mind.

2 Apr 2010

CCE recognizes Good Samaritan Hospital with CAPE Silver-level Eureka award

Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles was recognized with a California Awards for Performance Excellence (CAPE) Silver-level Eureka award for its performance excellence by the California Council for Excellence (CCE). Good Samaritan Hospital was one of four organizations recognized with the Silver-level Eureka award. CCE also awarded 1 Gold-level Eureka award and 3 Bronze-level Eureka awards. Organizations represent the business, education, non-profit, health care and military sectors. In addition 25 businesses received the lower-level Prospector award.

2 Apr 2010